Religion is one of the most powerful beliefs a person can hold, and that’s also what makes it such a terrifying weapon. The problem isn’t with being religious or following a certain belief system; the real issue lies with some believers who take things way too far.
A man on Reddit shared his experience dealing with his family, who all had very strong faith. He kept trying to draw boundaries with them every time they were preachy until, one day, they simply went too far, and he was done with all of it.
More info: Reddit
Guy is tired of religious family overtaking every function to spread their beliefs, forbids them from showing up to his son’s birthday after they ask whether they can preach during it
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
Single dad said that his family is heavily involved in the Christian church and that he finds it a chore to visit them since they only talk about religion
Image credits: Askar Abayev (not the actual photo)
His mother secretly took his kids to a religious event and even spent his birthday making speeches and testifying about her religion, only when the guy intervened did she stop
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)
The last straw was when they asked if they could preach at his son’s birthday party, he told them not to come if they were going to act like a congregation instead of a family
Image credits: u/TheWizardry90
They did not respect his wishes and started berating him, saying that he should be ashamed of himself for denying the religion
Faith is extremely powerful for many people and can help them through some of life’s toughest moments. That’s why nearly 8 out of 10 people across the world identify as part of some religious group. That adds up to 5.8 billion of the world’s population. Out of all these believers, 32% are Christians. This explains why the poster’s entire family seemed to be so heavily invested in and influenced by the religion.
Roughly 1 in 6 people, or 16% of individuals worldwide, have no religious affiliation. Although the poster didn’t mention whether he was religious or not, he was completely against the idea of his family forcing their faith on him. He told commenters, “I actually went to her church a couple of times and have met very pleasant people that just asked if I liked the sermon and if I would like to hear a good word to attend anytime with no pressure. But, there are some that are so over the top that if you miss one day they believe you are committing [a] sin.”
Religion is important for believers because it helps them satisfy their basic desires of acceptance, curiosity, tranquility, and more. Research found that of all people's desires, the need for independence might differentiate religious and non-religious people. Those with strong faith expressed more desire for interdependence, whereas non-believers tended to be more self-reliant. This is probably why the guy’s family kept pushing to share their faith with people and get them to join the church.
As the poster mentioned, his family is staunchly religious, and they have often tried to force their agenda onto him. Once, they sneakily took his kids to a religious event without informing him about it. His mother used his birthday party to make a big speech about her faith while her congregation passed around pamphlets. They planned to pull a similar stunt on his son’s birthday, but the dad was having none of it. When he stood up to them, they got angry with him instead.
Bored Panda contacted the author of the post, u/TheWizardry90, to learn more about his family’s religious background. He said: “I would like to start off by saying I’ve always had a very strained relationship with my mother. I was verbally and physically abused by her up until my early teens. My father was in and out of jail/prison because of her false accusations of physical abuse. About 3 years ago my mom was caught with narcotics and had to go through minor jail time and community service. The community service happened to be at a thrift store ran by the church she now attends.”
“As far as cutting my family off. I’m just focused on my immediate family (mom, sister and grandparents). I had surgery last year and was near death. When my mother came to visit, she stated ‘I strayed too far from God and he made me sick to make me look for him.’ My grandmother was also there and she was crying and talking so unintelligible that the nurses thought that I unexpectedly passed away. The only relationship I can salvage is my older sister’s relationship with myself. She is the only one that joined their church but has enough sense of what to do and what to say when it is necessary,” he added.
Image credits: Luis Quintero (not the actual photo)
The poster shared more about his family’s connection with him and his kids. He stated, “my children no longer want to be involved with my mother and any ‘family get-togethers’ she plans. Every time it is part family and part her church family. Last Thanksgiving we had to sit for over 30 minutes as each one of her church family members explained what they were thankful for and how God has blessed them. Before all of this it was a quick 2-3 minute prayer and we got to eat.”
This invasive and pushy behavior can cause problems in a relationship and even ruin family bonds over time. In some cases, people might face a lot of religious trauma due to stressful religious experiences. This could happen if their family is fanatical and goes to extreme lengths to spread their beliefs, not realizing that it can do more harm than good.
“I feel my mom has joined a cult and the few times I have been to her church they sing and praise for over an hour and a half and when the main pastor speaks he is only on stage for 5 minutes and leaves. The collection plate gets passed around plenty and he shows up with his family in 2-3 brand new Escalades,” the man added.
One religious leader mentioned, “sharing one’s faith means proposing it to others, not imposing it.” Unlike the man’s family, believers should understand that they can be strong in their faith while respecting other people’s boundaries. Though their actions may come from a desire to do good, they need to be respectful. Other religious folk state it’s important for people to question their faith and choose what they want to believe in rather than being forced into it.
The poster had learned his lesson from inviting his family to his party. He did not want his son’s party also to get ruined by them. Unfortunately, they did not once question their behavior despite getting banned from a kid’s birthday event. People could not stop discussing the rude behavior of the man’s relatives, and the viral post got 19k upvotes and over 2k comments. Very few people came out in support of the religious family. But let us know whose side you are on. Do you think the guy was right to stop his family from sharing their beliefs?
Netizens compared the guy’s family to a used-car salesman, but for religion, because of their unending persistence
